Sunday, November 27, 2016

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is not celebrated here in Jamaica, but on Thursday, we had the opportunity to attend a very inspirational Zone Conference with about 30 young elders and sisters serving around the Kingston area, another senior missionary couple, and our Mission President and his wife. Our turkey sandwiches for the luncheon weren't quite what we were used to on Thanksgiving, and we missed being with family, but sharing this special time with others who love their Father in Heaven and are here to serve our brothers and sisters in this part of the world was very memorable. Buddy and I took every chance we could throughout the day to express our eternal gratitude to our Father in Heaven for our family and for so many dear friends.

Now to recap the past couple of weeks:

With special permission from our Mission President and the Area Authorities, we were able to fly ourselves back to the U.S. for a very short visit. The purpose for our trip was indeed an eternal one. We went so Buddy could join with his brother and sisters to be sealed in the Dallas Temple for time and all eternity to their mother and father. 

In Buddy's words:

November 19, 2016 will forever be a special day for my mother, father, sisters, brother, and me. It has been a forty year wait to be sealed to my parents and siblings. My dad passed away on November 16, 2015. Now that a year has passed, we were able to do his temple work by proxy. My brother and I served as proxy for Dad for all the ordinance work prior to and preparing for the sealing. First my dad and my mother, who is still living, were sealed as husband and wife. For this sacred ordinance, I had the honor of acting as proxy for Dad. The joy that was felt when we were subsequently sealed together as a family cannot be adequately expressed in either written or spoken word. I am so very grateful that the sealing power and priesthood authority have been restored to the earth in these last days so families can be together forever and not just for the duration of this mortal life.

We were absolutely overcome with joy that Jeff, Heather and all her family, Collin, Carly and all her family, Emily and all her family, and Blake were able to share this special time with Grandmother and other loved ones in Texas. Being able to be in the temple together was an extra special blessing.

                    

Dallas Temple

Susanne Sharp Stewart surrounded by her children and grandchildren.

Susanne Sharp Stewart with Richard "Buddy" Stewart, Allen Stewart, 

Barbara Stewart Crandall, and Laura Stewart Shortridge

L to R - Emily Stewart Cohoon, Carly Stewart Price, Heather Stewart Wheeler,

Debbie and Buddy Stewart, Jeff Stewart, Collin Stewart, and Blake Stewart

This was the first trip to Texas for many of our grandchildren, so Friday evening we just HAD to take them to one of our favorite steakhouses with a live country western band and all.  Everyone down to the youngest – Carly’s little 1-year-old – had so much fun out on the dance floor. That’s all some of them could talk about for the rest of the weekend. “Grandma, I loved that cowboy dancin' place!” 

After the amazing temple experience on Saturday, we all gathered for dinner at good ol’ Golden Corral (something for even the pickiest eaters) and then gathered out at Ryan (our nephew) and Laura’s ranch for a fun birthday party in their new barn. How much more Texan can you get?  We celebrated the 4th birthday of Heather’s twins, Lilly and Ethan, and the 1st birthday of Carly’s

little Boston. We loved watching the 2nd cousins playing together and developing what will hopefully be lifelong friendships. Our six certainly have fond memories of the time they spent with their cousins, and now many from this next generation had the chance to make new memories.  Even though we are all so spread out over the U.S., families are forever and distance cannot break those bonds.

Sunday was another extraordinary day. We attended Sacrament Meeting at Buddy’s mother’s ward taking up almost three full rows. What a glorious sight; Grandmother beamed as she was surrounded by three generations of loved ones! We always love attending church in Denton because we see so many people who are dear to our hearts because of their continued friendship and support starting forty years ago when we first joined the Church in Denton. 

Before we knew it, the weekend was over. It was of course hard to say good-by, but we did surprisingly well. We are committed to the mission and realize more than ever the potential for helping those in need in Jamaica. Once again, it wasn’t good-bye, but ‘til we meet again.

Fortunately, our flights back to Jamaica went smoothly. As we arrived back at our apartment, I actually felt like we were home. We are back to "work" as we continue with our responsibilities which we take very seriously. We know there are great opportunities ahead to do as we've been called to do - relief suffering and seek out the poor and needy. We already feel the time flying by, so we don't want to waste any of this time we have dedicated to the Lord to serve His children who are in need here in Jamaica.

Okay, so here it is - the most wonderful time of the year! We want to begin this Christmas season by sending our love and best wishes and by sharing with you a very special Christmas message and opportunity for service. 

We invite you to go to mormon.org.

There you will be able to watch the inspirational #LighttheWorld video and learn how you can Follow Our Savior Jesus Christ. In 25 Ways. Over 25 Days. 

This is actually an interactive media advent calendar.

From the website:

Since a new star first appeared above Bethlehem, Christmas has been a season of light, reminding us that Jesus Christ is the light of the world. Together, we can celebrate His birth by making the world a brighter place. All we have to do is follow Him—His life, His example, and His teachings. In doing so, we can help #LIGHTtheWORLD.

This Christmas, the Church is inviting people of all ages and religious backgrounds to not only share the good news of Christ’s birth but to actively follow His example of service throughout the month of December.

Every day leading up to Christmas is a chance to look at the things Jesus Christ did and resolve to do the same. To help, we'll be providing daily inspiration, suggestions, and encouragement on how we can follow the example of Jesus Christ and #LIGHTtheWORLD.

We hope you'll join us in this extraordinary worldwide Christmas event in honoring our Savior by following His example of sharing love and light.

               

Sunday, November 13, 2016

We weren't out and about much this week. Our time was filled with making and receiving phone calls and email correspondence with priesthood leaders around the island and with numerous people in the Area offices in the Dominican Republic. Debbie was under the weather Tuesday-Wednesday; she seems to be extra sensitive to some of the different foods, so we stayed in those days and accomplished quite a bit of necessary office work.

We're preparing for a visit from the Member Welfare Services missionaries for the Caribbean Area. They live in Canada and will be arriving in early December for a week’s worth of visiting around the island, specifically to meet with priesthood leaders to follow up on projects that are currently underway and to look for potential new projects. Their role differs from ours in that they provide guidance on church member welfare projects that are originated and overseen by the local priesthood leaders. Our efforts are to primarily focus on benefiting the non-members of local communities, and our projects are supervised by the Area Welfare Manager with us as the project managers. An example of a project that they will be checking on involves several member families in Savanna-la-Mar who are undertaking poultry production - specifically raising broilers to sell. The purpose of these types of projects is to help individuals and families become more self-reliant. Other examples of these projects involve gardening, and raising bees, pigs, or goats. 

Our role prior to and during our “off island” visitors’ stay is to provide logistical support. We are assisting with the scheduling of meetings with the local priesthood leaders all around Jamaica. So far we have set up meetings in Kingston, Portmore, Mandeville, Savanna-la-Mar, and Montego Bay, so it will be a busy week as we provide transportation and accompany our guests. We look forward to learning a lot about this arm of the church welfare system.

As we have made our way around the island, meeting with the members has led us to see that our role in humanitarian work is not well understood by most of the saints. As a result, we are preparing a presentation to educate the leadership and eventually, the general membership.

We did make one trip this week to Linstead to help with the acquisition of paint and associated supplies for the final touches on the basic school project there. This should be the last of the purchases for this project. Once the painting is completed, we will be ready for a closing ceremony to “hand over” the project to the community. A handing over ceremony is important in the Jamaican culture. It celebrates the completion of a project which provides for a better Jamaica. Even the smallest of endeavors is a cause for happiness. Celebrating success is a good thing.

We returned to Linstead today to attend church. As has been our experience in the past, we had a delightful time communing with the Jamaican saints. Three of the fine Jamaica Kingston Mission elders spoke today. One is headed home, and the other two are going to new areas. We so enjoy meeting and learning from these stalwart, faithful young men. This building is one constructed without air conditioning; however, we had a pleasant cross breeze that kept the chapel comfortable. Our meeting after church with the bishop was brief, so we set up an additional meeting in Kingston. He works at the Mission Office once a week, so we’ll meet with him there in a few weeks’ time. We continue to be impressed with the quality of the leadership that has developed in Jamaica.

Monday, November 7, 2016

Our big news this week is that we were able to submit a proposal for a project. Woo hoo! There is a lot of groundwork and paperwork to do before a potential project is ready to submit, so we were really excited. We are optimistic about getting this project approved; time will tell. 

Our travels this week took us to the beautiful cities of Montego Bay and Ocho Rios on the northern coast. We went to Montego Bay to once again meet with the wonderful Branch President to continue laying the foundation for projects there. Then on Sunday, we attended meetings in a small branch in Ocho Rios. Both of these cities are ports, and yesterday as we drove into Ocho Rios, we saw people disembarking from a huge cruise ship; that brought back great memories of our cruise a couple of years ago. Two cruising couples and another couple who had flown in attended Sacrament Meeting. It was great to meet all of them, but the most fun was that one of the couples is from Oregon, and we know them! We had just finished partaking of the Sacrament when this cute little couple came in and motioned they were coming to sit in our row. We all did a double take as we realized we knew one another. We had served with this brother in the temple. It was a wonderful reunion with this dear brother and his wife. I told Buddy later, we should attend meetings at these cruise port cities more often; no telling who we might see. 

Stewarts with Brother and Sister Jorgensen 

We also were able to finally meet a young elder serving here from Vancouver while we were in Montego Bay, and we actually saw him again in Ocho Rios yesterday. We didn't know this fine young man back in Vancouver, but we had been told he was here. Our paths just hadn't crossed yet. Bless his heart, he felt bad not having a tie for the picture; he had loaned it to one of the young priests in the branch. His handsome companion is from Jamaica. We failed to get a picture of the darling sisters serving in this branch. One is from Africa and the other from Jamaica. We could tell all these young missionaries are giving their all and are such a blessing to this branch. We had a brief meeting with the Branch President to get acquainted and explain our role as Welfare Services Missionaries. He is an impressive young man who has only been a member for three years and has served the last year and a half as the Branch President. He's the type of convert one hears stories about; those who are so new to the Church but are called by the Lord to positions of responsibility because of their humility, faith, and willingness to serve. We love and admire him already.  

Elder Seter from Vancouver, WA and Elder Witter from Jamaica

On Saturday, we participated in the International Day of Service by working alongside members of the Kingston Constant Springs Ward and volunteers from the Kiwanis Club to make improvements to the John Mills Primary and Junior High School. The schools here are always very colorful and often have original artwork on the walls.

                      This sweet, hard working young sister is from Belize. 

                She is here studying physics at the University of West Indies. 

In our daily personal and companion studies, we often run across golden lines worth sharing. Indeed this is one. 

President Spencer W. Kimball (President of the Church 1973-1985) was once asked, Why are Mormon people such happy folks? He replied, "It is because we have everything - the gospel of Jesus Christ, the light, the priesthood, the power, the promises, the covenants, the temples, our families, the truth."

Absolutely! These truly are our sources of happiness. These are the very reasons, along with our love for Heavenly and Jesus Christ, we are willing to be away from our family to do our part by serving the people of Jamaica.